Creative Futures Revisited: Aries Moross

As part of our 40th birthday celebrations, CR is revisiting the alumni from our Creative Futures scheme, which ran for nearly 30 years. Here, designer Aries Moross, featured in 2008, takes us through their career to date

“I think it was kind of unprecedented to be on the cover and inside Creative Review when you’re 21 and you’re at uni,” says Aries Moross. While most of CR’s Creative Futures alumni had at least a few years’ worth of experience under their belts when they were chosen, Moross (who identifies as non-binary and uses they/them pronouns) hadn’t even fully stepped into the world of work yet when they were featured in 2008, during their final year at Camberwell College of Arts.

At the time, the designer had already connected with London’s thriving nightlife scene, creating Myspace pages for various bands and countless clubnight flyers, but their first big commission came in their second year, when they created a billboard campaign for Cadbury. By graduation, they were regularly working with clients such as Vice and record label Young Turks.

Moross’ early success is even more remarkable when you consider the fact that it occurred in a pre-Instagram world. “Now I think that wouldn’t be such a big deal because obviously we have such a fixation on up-and-coming and emerging talent, more than ever before, but back then it did feel a little bit like the old boys’ club…. It was a very different time to how it is now, and it really propelled me, I think, all of that exposure.”